We have so many mental frames related to numbers, that have been handed down culturally for, in some cases, hundreds and even thousands of years. These numerical superstitions come from myths, some from science, some cultural and historic — and many are universal. They remind us that despite our differences across nations and across time, we human beings still have a lot more in common with one another than we have differences.
- 1 is the loneliest number… but can also be unity, and the origin of all things
- 2 is duality ☯️
- 3’s a crowd
- 4 is a square; representative of justice | Buddhist Four Noble Truths ⬛
- 5 is alive
- 6 is the first perfect number
- 7 notes in the musical scale 🎼
- 8 is paradise; lucky in Buddhism 🍀
- 9 lives 😺
- 10 is the most perfect number 🔟
- 11 players in soccer & football ⚽
- 12 is cosmological: zodiac symbols, stations of the Moon, stations of the Sun | 12 inches in a foot 📏
- 13 lunar months in the year 🌙
- 20 bucks 💵
- 30 pieces of silver 💰
- 40 days and 40 nights 🚣♂️
- 50 ways to leave your lover | 50 shades of grey
- 100 year centennial 💯
- 1000 — millenarianism
I’ll keep adding to the list of numerical superstitions over time…!